Useless Repetitions You Should Avoid in English (II)

20.
Cacophony (of sound). The phrase is a useless repetition
because cacophony is by definition a disagreeable mixture of sounds. Since
sound is the stuff of cacophony, it’s pleonastic to talk of a “cacophony of
sound.”

21.(Careful) scrutiny.
It isn’t a scrutiny if it isn’t careful. A scrutiny is a close, prolonged,
intense examination of something.

23.
Classify (into groups). The essence of classification is
arranging into groups. Your prose will be more elegant if you eliminate “into
groups” from the phrase.

25.
Commute (back and forth). Commuting involves traveling back
and forth, so “commute back and forth” is excess linguistic luggage.

26.
Compete (with each other). To compete is to engage in a
contest with each other. You can’t compete with yourself. Similar expressions
to avoid if you want to save space are “integrate (with each other),” “interdependent
(on each other),” “meet (with each other),” “mutual respect (for each other),” “equal
(to one another),” etc.

31.
Could (possibly). “Could” is a modal auxiliary that
expresses possibility. That means the words “could” and “possibly” basically
perform the same function, making “could possibly” a surplusage, that is, more
words than needed to express an idea. Related surplusages are “may possibly”
and “might possibly.”

32.
Crisis (situation). A crisis IS a situation. The addition
of “situation” to “crisis” is redundant. This is also true of “emergency
(situation).”

33.
(Current) trend. All trends are current. That is what
makes them trends. If they weren’t current, they wouldn’t be trends; they would
be passé. A similar, if less frequent, redundancy is “(current) incumbent.”

33.
Depreciate (in value). When something depreciates it
loses value. “Value” forms the core of the notion of depreciation—and
appreciation. So it’s useless repetition to say something has depreciated—or
appreciated—“in value.” It is sufficient to say it has depreciated.

34.
Descend (down). Just like “ascend up,” “descend down”
is needlessly repetitive since “down” is the only direction to which you can
descend. Similar tautologies, which are nonetheless idiomatic in the language, are
“drop (down),” “dwindle (down),” “kneel
(down),” “(down) south,” “(up) north,” etc.

35.
(Desirable) benefits. Benefits are by nature desirable gains.
Unless we can talk of “undesirable benefits” (which would be a contradiction in
terms), “desirable benefits” is pointless phraseology.

34.
(Different) kinds. They wouldn’t be “kinds” if they were
not “different.”

36.
During (the course of). This is more words than are
necessary to say “on” or “throughout.” It’s similar to “earlier (in time).”

37.
(Empty) hole. Is a hole supposed to be full? It’s a
hole precisely because it’s empty. “(Empty)
space” belongs in the same class of tautology as “empty hole,” although I think
“empty space” is more defensible than “empty hole.”

38.
Enclosed (herein). This popular phrase in email and
snail-mail correspondence can do without “herein” and retain the same meaning.

40.
Estimated at (about). Both “estimate” and “about” express the
same meaning: imprecision, incertitude.

42.
Evolve (over time). To evolve means to change over time.
Evolution is never constant. That’s why the phrase is a pointless repetition.

43.
(Exact) same. Both words express the notion of
identical properties, yet many people, including me, love to describe things as
“exact same."

44.
Extradite (back). Extradite means to hand over back to
the authorities of another country. Since extradition involves a “back”
movement, the phrase can do without “back.” Similar phrases are “revert
(back),” “return (back),” “refer (back),” “reflect (back),” “reply (back),” “retreat
(back),” etc.

46.
(Fellow) classmates. A fellow is someone who is a member of
one’s class or profession, so the expressions “fellow classmates” and “fellow
colleagues” are pointless repetitions.

47.
Few (in number). This is a useless repetition because
fewness is and can only be about numbers. This tautology is similar to “many
(in number),” “blue (in color),” “short (in stature,” “tall (in height),” “I am
Muhammad (by name),” etc.

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About Me

Dr. Farooq Kperogi is a professor, journalist, newspaper columnist, author, and blogger based in Greater Atlanta, USA. He received his Ph.D. in communication from Georgia State University's Department of Communication where he taught journalism for 5 years and won the top Ph.D. student prize called the "Outstanding Academic Achievement in Graduate Studies Award." He earned his Master of Science degree in communication (with a minor in English) from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and won the Outstanding Master's Student in Communication Award.

He earned his B.A. in Mass Communication (with minors in English and Political Science) from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria, where he won the Nigerian Television Authority Prize for the Best Graduating Student.

Dr. Kperogi worked as a reporter and news editor, as a researcher/speech writer at the (Nigerian) President's office, and as a journalism lecturer at Kaduna Polytechnic and Ahmadu Bello University before relocating to the United States.

He was the Managing Editor of the Atlanta Review of Journalism History, a refereed academic journal. He was also Associate Director of Research at Georgia State University's Center for International Media Education (CIME).

He is currently an Associate Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media at the School of Communication and Media, Kennesaw State University, Georgia's fastest-growing and third largest university. (Kennesaw is a suburb of Atlanta). He also writes two weekly newspaper columns: "Notes From Atlanta" in the Abuja-based DailyTrust on Saturday (formerly Weekly Trust) and "Politics of Grammar" in the DailyTrust on Sunday (formerly Sunday Trust).

In April 2014 Dr. Kperogi was honored as the Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Louisiana's Department of Communication. His research has also won international awards, such as the 2016 Top-Rated Research Paper Award at the 17th Symposium on Online Journalism at the University of Texas, Austin, USA.